Shoe recycling program benefits Phoenixville July 4th fireworks

PHOENIXVILLE — A local community group is collecting shoes for those who need them in developing countries in a program that will help fund the borough’s Fourth of July fireworks celebration.

The Soroptimist International Club of Phoenixville has partnered with a program called Shoebox for the past two years. Shoebox takes donated shoes and passes them out in developing nations so that they don’t fill up U.S. landfills, according to a press release from the Soroptimists.

Tammy Klotzbach, of the Soroptimists, said roughly 2 million pairs of shoes end up in landfills across the U.S. every year.

For each full box of shoes, which equates to about 40 pairs, the Soroptimists will receive $20 from Shoebox, which the group plans on donating to the Phoenixville fireworks at Friendship Field for Independence Day.

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So far, according to the Soroptimist Club, 20 boxes of shoes have already been collected, raising more than $500.

Boxes will be available at Friendship Field July 4.

“People attending the fireworks are encouraged to bring along an old pair of shoes to donate,” the press release said.

Anyone with questions about the program can contact Klotzbach at 610-633-1334.